Thomas Frank says Brentford cannot use their new stadium as an excuse for a slow start to the Championship season.

The Bees played their first match at the Brentford Community Stadium in the Carabao Cup on Sunday, beating ten-man Wycombe Wanderers 4-2 on penalties.

Ethan Pinnock put the hosts in front before Daryl Horgan’s late leveller sent the game to spot-kicks, only for Luke Daniels - first-choice goalkeeper David Raya’s understudy - to save Scott Kashket’s penalty to help the West Londoners into the second round.

Brentford's assault on the Championship gets underway against Birmingham City next week - and Frank says his players must hit the ground running in the post-Griffin Park era.

“I don’t think if we play fantastic in the first part of the season it is anything to do with the new stadium,” said the Dane.

“I expect us to be bang on it from the first game, especially if we play without the crowd in the beginning. The pitch is the same measurement as all other pitches.

“Overall it was a pleasing performance but I want us to do more in the first 30 minutes. 

“It was more or less a new team playing together and there were some good performances out there.

“Matty (Mathias Jensen) as a six was brilliant and Jan Zamburek needs praising a lot – he is going to be a top player in the future. 

“Luke did well and made a great save at the end.”

Brentford travel to Aitor Karanka’s Blues bidding to get their campaign off to a flyer after suffering play-off final heartbreak against Fulham last month.

And the following week comes their maiden league clash at their new, futuristic West London home, welcoming Huddersfield Town - and new manager Carlos Corberan - to the Brentford Community Stadium.

The futures of Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma remain uncertain but Frank recently brought in Peterborough striker Ivan Toney, who made his debut against Wycombe but failed to find the target.

At the other end of the pitch, Frank was without first-choice keeper Raya, who came under fire for being at fault for Joe Bryan’s first goal at Wembley.

Frank is expecting to have the Spanish shot-stopper back for next weekend - and also hopes his new £10million hitman can reap the rewards for his positioning.

On Toney, the 46-year-old said: “There were some really good bits. You can see what he is good at, especially in the box.

“He had three, four, five chances, which is a very good sign for a goalscorer and a striker. He finds very good positions in the box.

“David is close to being available for the Birmingham game. He has had a minor issue with his knee.”